Joe Lauzon makes his case for fights with Nate Diaz, Hermes Franca

http://mmajunkie.comFollowing this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night 17 submission victory over Jeremy Stephens, headliner Joe Lauzon was asked where he sees himself in a quickly crowding lightweight title picture.

The 24-year-old Lauzon has made steady progress up the division’s ladder, and the only loss of his UFC career came to now-top 155-pound contender Kenny Florian last year.

Not sure exactly where he ranks, but wanting to face fellow contenders, Lauzon had a suggestion for his next match-up: his fellow cast member from “The Ultimate Fighter 5,” Nate Diaz.

Lauzon and Diaz were among a small group of favorites when they entered the fifth-season cast of the UFC’s reality series. Fighting primarily in the Northeast, Lauzon had posted a 13-3 record (with 12 submission victories and a knockout), which included a shocking upset of Jens Pulver in his octagon debut at UFC 63. A young Diaz, meanwhile, had made a name for himself on the West Coast while going 5-2 fighting for major organizations such as the WEC and Strikeforce.

Despite being on opposite teams – Lauzon was drafted onto B.J. Penn’s team, and Diaz fought for rival coach Jens Pulver’s squad – their paths never crossed on the show. Lauzon advanced to the semifinals with victories over Brian Geraghty and Cole Miller, but he was eventually stopped by Manny Gamburyan, who lost (due to a shoulder injury) to Diaz in the show’s live finale.

Lauzon knows many fans were hoping to see him fight either one of the two finalists, and he hasn’t closed the door on that opportunity – especially when it comes to Diaz.

“I like Nate a lot, and I like Manny a lot,” Lauzon said. “If the UFC wants me to fight one of those guys, I’d guess probably (I’d want) more so Nate than Manny. I think a lot of people were waiting for that fight. When I was in the (The Ultimate Fighter) house, I was looking forward to that fight. No one really wanted that fight. I was like, ‘I’ll fight Nate.’ I thought he was one of the better guys in the house.”

However, the good-natured Lauzon, a self-proclaimed “computer geek” with an ever-growing fan base, knows the match-up could end any friendship he has with Diaz. After all, when it comes to Nate – and his brother Nick, a UFC veteran and fellow Cesar Gracie-trained fighter – hostility and bad blood are just part of the fight game.

“I like Nate,” Lauzon said. “Me and Nate are real cool right now. But if it gets to the point where we were going to sign on the dotted line and we were going to fight each other, he’d hate me up until the fight. … That’s the just way it is for him.”

“But I just have a ton of respect for him.”

The fight could be quite marketable, as well. Since “The Ultimate Fighter 5,” Diaz and Lauzon have been the show’s biggest success stories. Lauzon is now 5-1 in the UFC with two UFC Fight Night main-events, a Fight of the Night award (in the loss to Florian) and a Submission of the Night bonus from the Stephens fight. Diaz, meanwhile, is also 5-1 in the octagon with his only loss coming to Clay Guida via close split decision last month at UFC 94. Like Lauzon, Diaz has been awarded for some stellar performance, which resulted in two Fight of the Night bonuses (from the Guida loss and a split-decision win over Josh Neer) and a Submission of the Night award (vs. Kurt Pellegrino).

Surely, Spike TV sees the marketability, as well. With the cable station and longtime UFC partner preferring to showcase “TUF” veterans, a UFC Fight Night event headlined by Diaz and Lauzon could surely generate some interest, especially if the UFC were to venture to Lauzon’s home near Boston or Diaz’s near Stockton, Calif.

Of course, despite setting his sights with Diaz, Lauzon hasn’t forgotten about his budding feud with Hermes Franca, whom he was originally scheduled to fight at UFC Fight Night 17. Two weeks before the fight, Franca pulled out of the bout with a torn ACL. His training partner and friend Stephens took the vacant spot.

However, soon after announcing he was off the fight card, Franca tangled with Lauzon on The Underground, a popular MMA forum. Lauzon wished Franca good luck with his recovering, but when he responded, Franca took a swipe at Lauzon’s brother, Affliction fighter Dan Lauzon, about his recent performance. The war of words quickly escalated.

“I think he talked a lot of trash for a guy who backed out of the fight,” Lauzon said. “I didn’t say anything bad about him. When I started fighting, I used to be a big fan of Hermes, but now I’d still like to fight him.”

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.